Gas and liquid contact apparatus



P 8, 1953 J. P. VOLEAU 2,651,512

GAS AND LIQUID CONTACT APPARATUS Filed July 19, 1949 2 Sheefcs-Shet 1 1 2/02 Aer H91 T I l I/v urn/70R:

(/ULES PIERRE VOLAU J. P. VQLEAU GAS AND IJIQUID CONTACT APPARATUS Sept. 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 19, 1949 Fig. 4..

IN vii 70R: Muss Pzmm: VdLE/lll Patented Sept. 8, 1953 OUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE G'As A D LIQUIITZfifI T A T APPARATUS Jules Pierre Voleau, Boulogne-sur-Seine, France, assignor to LAir Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude, Paris, France Application July 19, 1949, Serial No. 105,532

1 In France August 4, 1948 This invention relates to gas and liquid contact columns and deals with improvements in devices for distributing the liquid from one plate to the next lower one, in the columns, for instance in distillating and rectifying columns.

An object of this invention is to facilitate the circulation of the liquid and of the froth on'the plates, and their flowing down through the downspouts.

Another object is to reduce the portion of plate area occupied by the downspouts.

A further object is to provide for the arranging of the plates as close as possible above each other.

Still another object is to lessen the losses of pressure head due to the changes in direction of the liquid through the hydraulic seals and the distributing pipes.

, A still further object is to insure that the distributing pipes are full with the liquid containing no or only a few gas bubbles, and so to take up relatively narrow diameters for these pipes.

Other objects of the invention will appear during the course of the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawings.

Those objects are attained, according to the present invention, chiefly by arranging the liquid distributing tubes under the plate that they feed, that is to say in the space between this plate .and the next lower one.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of a column constructed according to the prior art;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of a column having plates and downspouts constructed according to one form of the present invention in which the flow of liquid over the plates is centripetal;

Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating a form of the present invention in which the flow of liquid over the plates is centrifugal;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, of an apparatus according to the present invention in which the flow of liquid over the plates is centrifugal;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4 showing a modified form of construction.

On Fig. 1 is shown in vertical section a part of a conventional column, provided with superimposed plates S, S1, S2 and intended to be of the centripetal circulation type. Over plate S taken as an example, radial tubes T are fitted on box G and the open ends of these tubes are above the peripheral part of the plate. In the central part of the plate is a funnel-like downspout D, the

1 Claim. (01. 261-114) low part of which projects into a box G1, provided with radial tubes T1 that are like the tubes T and situated at a, higher level than the low edge of downspout D so that the whole makes a hydraulic seal.

The operation of such device is as follows:

The liquid, discharged from the next upper plate, not shown, is conducted according to the arrows through box G, then by means of the pipes T outwardly towards the external part of plate S. It flows along this plate from the periphery towards the centre, contacting meanwhile with the gas flowing up through the perforations of the plate and bubbling through the liquid. When reaching the central region of the plate, the liquid is discharged into the downspout D, the box G1, then into the tubes T1 and flows similarly on the plate S1.

The inconveniences of this standard arrangement, which become especially striking with large-sized plates, are as follows:

1'. The discharge tubes interfere with the circulation of the froth that may occur on the plate and in the case of plates on which it is desired to impart to the liquid an oblique movement so as to increase its period of contact on the surface of the plate and the tubes prevent any tangential component in the movement of the liquid.

2. The liquid flows into downspout D1 along the circumference of this downspout, but its flow is hindered at this spot by the distribution tubes T1 and to obviate this drawback, a relatively large diameter should be given to the end part of D1, thus exaggerating its dimension in relation to the diameter of the plate. These two drawbacks are of special importance when it is desired to arrange the plates as close as possible above each other.

3. The changes in direction of the liquid in passing through the hydraulic seal set up a loss of pressure head that acts as a check on the flow of the liquid.

4. The distribution tubes T1, T2 are not filled with liquid but enclose in their upper portion gas bubbles arising from the atmosphere of the plate, which bubbles oppose the satisfactory flowing of the liquid and necessitate large diameters for these distributing tubes.

As shown in Fig. 2, the bottoms of successive plates are denoted by S, S1, Sz, and it will be seen that underneath each bottom of the plates pass distributing pipes T1, T'1, T2 respectively feeding the plates S, S1, Sz. In Figure 2, one end of the tubes 1" emerges into the central downspout D connected to the bottom of the plate S,

the other end of the tubes T emerges in the annular guttering G of which the upperpart is flush with the bottom of the plate. Under these conditions, the liquid going down, for instance, from the plate S'1 through U1, is fed on to the lower plateSZ through" the pipes Tiythe-liquid having circulatedover sz flows through flz, of necessity as represented, while going over the top of a weir. It is a fact that it meets the tubes T'e, but it has already at this spot acquired acertain speed and its discharge is fixedbh'l'y by'thecircumference of D2.

The hydraulic seal is formed b'y -the assinbiy of the central container D-HSflieWuBs T z afid the annular guttering G'z; the tubes Tz-lie filled continually, therefore, with liquig.

According to Figure 3, the tubes T n-placed under the plate S'i, emerge at one of their ends into an axial container Gfi, their otherhbtihntal end is connected to vertical tubes Di, emerging 'on-the upper 'pla'te 'S. Under these-'-'condi tidns, th liq'u'id overflowing from --the 'plate S into the downspouts E and the descending pipes D'r fills the pipes T'rthe'n the central container G'1 so as to emerge then on the p1ate S'i from which it flows through the downspo1its -E1and the pipes D'2.

The hydraulic seal-is formed by the-assembly of the tubes D" and T and the containers G,

The periphery of' the plate '(Eig.4)'-may be tak'enup' wholly by the downspeu'ts alternating with the tubes coining downfrom -the 1 1pper plate. -It'isthus simDIetO' QiVe 'both" of thema large enough" cross section. ForstructuraFconvenience, the peripheralportion of the plate (Fig.

5) maybe forindalso by a 'riin RT-carrying openings for the downspouts -E'i -and bored for the passing of the pipes D' descending from the upperplate. The main thing'is' that there should be no direct communication between" the "free spaces above and below a given plateFwhich"is effected, as an example, by the two ari'angemehts of Figures 4 and 5.

"Generally speaking, the figuresshow plainly that the flow ofthe Iiquidis'much simpler than '45 inthe previous cases.

From the structural point of view, use may be made to advantage of the tubes T; as supports for the surface S'i.

Use may be made likewise of the tubes for fastening below the latter a wire gauze or any other arrangement for-checking the liquid globu-Ies resultihgfi om a possible priming on the lower plate.

:What I claim is:

Agas and liquid contact apparatus comprisirigaoluinnfaplurality of superposed contactingiplates mountedm said column, liquid dis- {charge means on each plate having an inlet porf tion pesi tiened abov the plate to maintain a -*-lalyer ef*-liduid on the plate, the liquid discharge means havinga-bottom portion below the bottom mi -thenext lowef plate, conduit means extending beneath said next lower plate for conducting liqiiid 'fi'oin the lower portion of said discharge means up to said next lower plate, said conduit means "cooperating with saiddischarge means and "with the upper porti'on of the discharge means-of the'next loweriplate to form -a liquid trap-to; provide a- "liquid -'-seal of -a depthequal to the distance b etween the "lowermost portion of the top *iirall of- "said conduit means and the inlet portion of the-discharge means ofsaid next lower plate 'a-nd: included -within the distance between the inlet portion of the discharge means of: said next-lbwer -plate-and the liquid level in the-lower portion of said lastmentioned discharge means.

' 'JULES PIERRE'--VOLEAU.

* References Cited in thefileof-thisrpatent UNIT-ED STATES PATENTS Niiniber Name I 'Date 1,7 82,862 Wagner =Nov. 25; 19-30 2 ,0 10',0 10 Gliill'as Aug; 6, 1935 ='2,1 3e,'139 -'*K nm -JNov, s; 1938 "2,497,136 Patterson Feb;'14,"1950 T FOREIGN PATENTS Number H countr Date 476,913 France -.l 'June 14, 1915 

